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Since we started this blog, many people have given our Miss Independent a sympathetic ‘aww’ when hearing that she is always being ditched by dreaded men folk. But just exactly why do seemingly normal and appealing girls get left on the shelf, or even worse at the side of the road after being flung off the Relation Ship without a life jacket? Here our very own ‘Ditched’ gives the inside scoop in to life as a single twenty something woman; be warned, she is very honest.

When I was 16 I lived in a fairyland world; one where Princes rescued Princesses, and sexting was only available to those who didn’t own a Nokia 5110. I was, and still am, a dreamer and a sucker for romance, but 11 years on I now look at the world of love without the help of any rose tinted spectacles.

When I was 16 most of my friends had already done the deed with a cool kid at school; you know the type who now works at Poundland and has 3 children, but I always wanted to wait for that one special person to give my feminine essence to. Not only did I wait for the right person to do the no pants dance with, but he was also my first kiss and under the cover finger fumble. What followed was a two year on off romance, with a small incident of cheating (his lame ass not mine) and a few on again, off again moments; it all came to an end when he decided he needed to find himself, which left me crying into my Carebear pillow and wondering if I would ever love again.

So with my dreams of a fairy tale romance down the crapper, I carried on with my teenage antics, but never actually got with anyone again until I buggered off to University, and even there I refused to act out a scene from Geordie Shore’s night vision cameras. My problem: assuming a relationship from every guy who even brushes past me; granted I am nowhere near as bad as I used to be, but trying to behave like a man and see most things as casual just isn’t my style. So this need and want to be in a relationship with anyone from the bus driver who smiled at me, to the work colleague who jokingly touches my arm during a joke, is obviously enough to leave most men pressing the eject button and watching me crash into the ground.

The guys who I have actually dated steadily and made me think things were more serious than they were are probably the reason I am writing this blog in the first place, and I should send them a basket of fruit or something to say thank you. I am not ashamed to be known as the eternally ditched girl, as someone somewhere is bound to pick me up off the side and take me in.

After years of taking myself, and the dating game way too seriously, I can finally see situations for what they are, and not assume that just because he mentioned going on holiday in the future, doesn’t mean he will. Even if a dreamboat saunters up to me and gives it the big ‘ I’m serious about you, and let’s give this a shot’ speech, then I’m still not 100% sold until I witness and feel some truth in those words.

Am I bitter about love and relationships? Slightly, but aren’t we all? I mean we all have that one person who to this day will make us angry and our heart skip a beat at the same time. But it’s all about accepting who you are as a person, and for me that’s being a little bit too intense when it comes to the hairier sex.

Life as a modern woman can be hectic; just ask Our Wedded Miss about her husbands sport fetish, or Miss Independent on her fear of blokes with bad teeth. But add in a glamorous modelling career, a 2 year old son and a fella who floors blokes for a living and things just get a whole lot crazier. Here we chat to the beautiful Rachael Cordingley, on life as a model, mother and being the other half of the Cobra, Mr Carl Froch.

Picture courtesy of Neil Dobias at Force 1 Management

ROUND 1: We are suckers for a romantic story, so how did you and Carl first meet? We met through a mutual friend who thought we would get on well together, then we spoke on the phone for hours and I felt like I had known him for years. Was it a whirlwind romance? Yeah it was; I know that sounds cheesy! We met up in London and spent the weekend together; stayed in a hotel with separate rooms! Then we never really parted, as I came up to Nottingham and just travelled back to London for work.

ROUND 2: Do you find it difficult as a modern woman juggling a glamorous career with motherhood? Well I’ve been modelling since I was 19, so taking a step back and enjoying time with Rocco has been great, but he has just turned 2 so I am definitely going to get back into it. I had to start training straight away to get my figure back, as I put on three stone during the pregnancy, but luckily I’ve managed to get back down to how I was before, if not a little lighter.

ROUND 3: How difficult on a scale of one to ten is it watching Carl fight? Probably about an 8; it’s very stressful and I don’t see him as much so we do miss him. But I don’t worry about him getting hurt, I just know how much he wants to win. But his last fight against Lucian Bute was brilliant, I loved it, and I never get bored watching it back; even though I know what’s going to happen I still scream at the telly!

ROUND 4: Some people dub you and Carl as the Posh and Becks of boxing. Do you welcome the celebrity attention, or do you take it on the chin (if you’ll pardon the boxing pun!) We just take it as it comes really, I mean we’ve done various magazine and newspaper spreads together, but we are a low key couple as Carl doesn’t really like that lifestyle. But with my line of work it comes as part of it, but Carl is so down to earth and prefers to focus on his passion for boxing.

ROUND 5: How does Carl handle the attention you receive from being a glamour girl? And do you ever struggle with the female attention that he may receive? From time to time we both get jealous, but we’ve got each other and nothing else can come between us. Say if any men come up to me the Carl will look over just to keep an eye out, but we both laugh it off. Girls have gone up to Carl before and I just make sure my presence is known!

ROUND 6: If a movie were made about Carl’s life, who would you want to play him and also yourself ohh, erm, well Carl is a massive fan of Sylvester Stallone, so I’d say him, although I prefer Jason Statham or Clive Owen! But for myself I’d have to go with Megan Fox.

ROUND 7: As a little girl, did you envisage yourself getting married, or does it all depend on meeting that one right person? Definitely. When I was growing up I was more of a tomboy and in to my sports, and it was never on my mind to get married or have children, so all of my family were surprised when I announced I was expecting Rocco, as they never thought I would be the first to have a baby! But when you find that right person, then everything just clicks into place. Do you think you will have more kids with Carl in the future? Yes definitely. I want three boys!

ROUND 8: Do you feel any pressure to keep in good shape being with a world class athlete such as Carl. We tend to do things together; when Carl isn’t training we pretty much do everything together and we are like best friends. So he might run and I’ll cycle, or we’ll both go for a run, or go to the gym together. Have you ever done any boxing training with Carl? Yes, I’ve just started back up actually. Carl will come with me to the gym and show me what to do and where I may be going wrong, then he’ll hold the bag or pads too. I did a charity boxing match about a year ago, so completed a months training with Carl and his trainer, Robert McCracken, which was amazing for shifting that half stone of baby weight! Sound like the perfect relationship to us Rachael! Yes it’s great, we tell each other everything and are always laughing!

ROUND 9: As a beautiful young woman, do you have a strict beauty regime and do you have any pearls of wisdom to help us on our way to becoming stunners? Ohh ha ha ha, now let me think… Do you tend to have no make up days? I always have them! We all like to put make up on, but just to go to the shop it’s nice to have non on and to pop a ponytail in. But I do enjoy getting dressed up and doing my hair etc, but some days you just need to let your skin breathe. I always cleanse, tone and moisturise, and I am a big fan of Sk:n products, especially to remove any make up.

ROUND 10: What is your number one go to beauty product? I like Clarins products, but at the moment I am using Sk:n Exfoliating Cleanser.

ROUND 11: If you could only buy clothes from one shop for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why? I’d have to say high street stores, as everything is always up to date. If I had to choose it would be Topshop, but I’m also a big fan of River Island and Zara.

So there you have it, pretty, funny and down to earth; Thank you Ms Rachael Cordingley xxx

It may have been a while since our Miss Independent strolled down Lovers Lane, hand in hand with a dashing young piece of arm candy, but she still remembers the tummy flutters and times of smug bliss that being in a relationship can bring. But our single lady also knows how quickly the goo-goo-gah-gah’s turn in to grrr-grrr-raaah-raaah’s, and suddenly everything that annoyed you about your one and only is let off like a firework. Here she looks at how, just like Rihanna; a good thang can go bad. (If only dying your hair red and grinding in tight shorts was a suitable option for everyone…)

For weeks now I have been fascinated by one ‘celebrity’ relationship, and that is the spectacle of Jodie Marsh and Kirk Norcross. Flame haired she-warrior Jodie has always been known for her outrageous stunts; including marrying Jordan’s ex on her MTV show ‘Who’ll Take Her Up The Aisle’ (Insert smutty joke here.) But for once I actually believed she had found a man who was, erm, man enough to take on her larger than life assets and lifestyle. But just over a month after their ‘showmance’ began, Jirk are no more, with rumours of Jodie’s no sex rule be-cumming too much for Kirky to take. The former TOWIE lad said “I felt like I was 13 again, going round to a girls house and kissing on the sofa, she just kept saying she wouldn’t have sex with me.’

So with his balls ready to burst, and Jodie only interested in getting a pump on at the gym, Kirk called time on their relationship and wasted no time in letting rip at the ripped Essex lass. Branding her a ‘fame obsessed liar” and claiming “I realised I only wanted to have sex with the old Jodie Marsh; the one I had posters of on my wall.” Kirk wasn’t afraid of kicking Jodie when she was down, but aren’t we all guilty of unleashing our inner bitter beast when a relationship hits the skids? I for one am 1 million percent guilty of that charge, and I come out swinging quicker than Mohammed Ali when my relationship world of rainbows and Sugarpuffs, descends into grey skies and piss ridden puddles.

One minute you are laying on his chest, slowly drifting off to sleep at the sound of each manly breathe; the next minute you want to lay him out on the floor and insult his love of One Direction-eqsue trousers. The things you adore about your ‘Boo’ during the blissful times are heightened by the chemical rushes you experience; so that aftershave he wore when you romantically watched ‘Paranormal Activity’ in the dark, will bring back all sorts of feelings. But when faced with the same smell after a hideous break up, it will invoke small rises of rage and possibly the vomiting up of the world’s largest dictionary of insults. I clearly remember having an exes t-shirt, and feeling like a safe child when sleeping in it, but come the day he decided it wasn’t him it was me; I cut that mother into tiny pieces and threw them in the air as if I were holding a million pounds.

If we are honest with ourselves, especially as women, we know that getting angry is a huge part of being bothered about losing something which meant so much to you; in Kirk’s case I just think he was upset about not adding another notch to the Norcross bedpost, as if he had actually cared then getting his leg over would have been the icing on a pretty amazing cake. He could still have sex with the poster of Jodie if he liked, I mean cutting a hole in to a wall isn’t that hard right Kirky?

The old saying goes, we need to get bitter before we can get better, so if letting off a little steam after a breakup helps to heal your once loved filled heart then go ahead and fill your boots; just think of it as giving your vocal chords a hefty workout. My advice as a long term resident of Single Town would be to remain calm under the pressure of a break up, by turning your bitterness into banter and not allowing yourself to ‘pull a Norcross’ by dragging out a public slanging match for longer than I’ve been single.

Wedded Miss & Miss Independent are going for their own Gold when it comes to winning the best sex and relationship blog in the Cosmo Awards 2012. Just like an athlete, we know it takes hard work and putting in a lot of effort to get there, so this week we hit the kitchen to decorate our very own Hitched & Ditched cookies for our promotional campaigns

Our very own batch of sweet treats will be given away in goody bags, posted to companies and given away at events. If anyone is interested in having any sent out then please contact us at kelly@hitchedandditched.co.uk

We also had our own t-shirts made, to show we mean business!

We love what we do and we hope you enjoy reading our random relationship ramblings. Please remember to vote for us in the sex and relationship category; it really would mean the world to us both.

Our Wedded Miss has heard the words ‘I Do’ more than Miss Independent has been told ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ Here she opens her wardrobe and vast make up counter to talk about that perfect wedding look.

I really wanted to go for a summery look for our good friends ‘the Cravens’ wedding, as me and the hubby had just come back from Ibiza and I had a lovely tan, plus the weather was looking promising so I wanted to make the most of it!

My dress was a peachy, nude colour from good old Topshop (£30), pleated with spaghetti straps and just above the knee. You don’t want to look like you are going on a night out when you attend an all day wedding or like you’re trying to out do the bride! So this dress was perfect not too clingy or too short! Plus it was excellent for me having over done it on the all inclusive the week before because it was nice and flowing!

My shoes are from New Look (£27.99) and went perfectly with my dress and summer theme. The peach strip gives them a bit of colour and the pearls and diamanté a bit of bling which I love and with a tan the colours are gorgeous. Considering how high they are they were reasonably comfortable, although obviously I was still dancing barefoot at midnight!!

I wanted to keep my make up fairly light and colour coordinated with my outfit so I started off with Garnier BB cream for oily/combination skin which gives surprisingly good coverage. I used Posietint by Benefit on my cheeks and Soap and Glory Love at First Blush to give me a rosy glow and highlight my cheekbones.

Obviously i applied lashings of They’re Real by benefit on my top and bottom lashes and then some Urban Decay eyeshadows on my lids in Scratch (peach), Snatch (glitter peach) and Uzi (silver)!
I always line my eyes with Benefit waterproof eyeliner because it’s amazing and I can’t leave the house without it!

I applied a MAC lipstick in Vegas Volt which is a lovely peachy orange colour and goes well with a tan and has great staying power.
I finished off by spritzing my face with Urban Decay All Nighter make up setting spray to fix it all in place for a long day of smiling, crying, talking and laughing!

Because I already had a tan (jammy!) I just used some Sally Hanson Airbrush Legs tan glow leg make up to even out my legs and give them a gorgeous sparkle – the stuff is fabulous, like wearing tights but better!!

I finished off spritzing myself with my Chloe Rose perfume which I bought especially for my own wedding and brings back beautiful memories.

And then I was ready to enjoy the wedding of Michael and Louise – it was a fabulous and fun day and I felt beautiful as well which is a bonus.